Related: Learning MOC, spaced-practice-schedule
Summary
summary
Metacognition is reflection on steroids. It’s the awareness or control of thinking for learning, and a game-changer for learning more and performing better.
Seeing in action: when you tackle a problem, you need to know how you start it, how you decide what to do first and then next, how you check your work, and how you decide when you’re finished. That’s metacognitive modeling.
There are many ways to integrate metacognition into learning, especially for students.
Nº1: Pre/Post-processing via exam wrappers
This is a way to reflect on previous knowledge to effectively study, and to reflect on your exams to assess how you can improve.
Pre-exam, ask yourself What do I already know about the topic that will guide my learning?
Some post exam wrapper questions include:
- When did you start preparing for the exam?
- How did you prepare?
- What types of questions were the most challenging for you and why?
- Name 3 things you will do differently for your next exam.
Nº2: prompts and guiding study
This is when you’re actually planning your study strategy.
Active-learning activities: hands-on exercises and reflecting on them. The activities include case studies, mind-maps, and problem sets.
For example, if you’re doing a class with practical exercises, you can ask yourself question about the content itself, like:
- Describe at least two ideas related to this assignment that you found confusing.
- How was the way you approached completing this assignment different compared with the last time we had an assignment like this?
- What advice would you give yourself based on what you know now if you were starting this assignment all over again?
Preparing for the exam: Don’t just blindly go into preparing! Reflect on the concepts you’ve covered, and identify which ones are confusing or make sense. Then use that information to prepare. Ask yourself the following:
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_How do you plan to prepare for the upcoming exam?
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Why?
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What resources are available to support you?
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How will you make sure to use these?
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What concepts have you found most confusing so far?
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What concepts have been most clear?
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Given that, how should you spend your study time in preparing for the exam?